Armenia’s National Assembly deputy stripped of parliamentary immunity
The National Security Service of Armenia (NSS) published a video on June 17 showing its search operation at various properties belonging to Member of Parliament Manvel Grigoryan. The video, which quickly went viral, shows large quantities of illegal ammunition, dozens of boxes of food labeled “For Soldiers”, military underwear, hygiene supplies, as well as letters from students addressed to frontline soldiers of the 2016 April War being found in Grigoryan’s mansions and warehouses. An ambulance belonging to the Ministry of Defense and a number of SUVs that were donated to the Nagorno Karabakh Army from Russian Armenians in April 2016 were also found in Grigoryan’s garage.
Grigoryan, who is part of the National Assembly’s Republican Party Faction, was detained on June 16 following the operation by NSS that discovered Grigoryan’s involvement in mass-scale corruption.
In a special session held on June 19, Armenia’s National Assembly voted to strip the MP of his parliamentary immunity. Of the 105 members of parliament, 77 voted in favor, three against, two ballots were declared invalid, and 23 members were not present at the vote, including Grigoryan himself.
Earlier, in a closed voting, the parliament voted in favor of the Prosecutor General’s motion to initiate a criminal case against Grigoryan.
READ MORE
Armenia’s National Assembly Member Arrested Over Large Corruption Case
Armenian Parliament Strips MP Manvel Grigoryan of His Immunity
Armenia’s Police and National Security Service intensify fight against corruption
The Police and the National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia continue to carry out special operations in homes and companies of people affiliated with the previous government who are allegedly involved in various corruption schemes.
On June 20, investigators found 1.1 million USD, 230,000 Euros and 36 million Armenian Drams (equal to 75,000 USD) in the home and restaurant owned by Vachagan Ghazaryan, the long-time head of the security of former President Serzh Sargsyan. The National Security Service also revealed cases of financial abuse in the army. In one case, the commanders of various military units took out fuel and spare parts of military equipment from the units and sold them to various individuals. On June 20, the police carried out a special operation and detained numerous “criminal authorities.” Weapons and illegal drugs were found in their homes.
The previous day, on June 19, former Head of the State Revenue Committee and Head of Serzh Sragsyan’s Presidential Oversight Service Hovhannes Hovsepyan was disarmed. Police found weapons in the cars accompanying him. His and the accompanying cars had state-issued license plates.
READ MORE
Armenia’s revolutionary government steps up anti-corruption purge
Preparing for snap parliamentary elections
The Armenian government is preparing for snap parliamentary elections, a core goal of Nikol Pashinyan’s government program. On June 20, by the decision of Prime Minister Pashinyan, a committee on reforming the Electoral Code was formed, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Ararat Mirzoyan.
On June 20, all parliamentary factions declared that they were willing to discuss the proposed amendments to the Electoral Code. It is expected that the elections will be held either at the end 2018 or early 2019.
Armenia to strike its most expensive military deal with Russia
On June 17, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan published a photo on his Facebook page captioned “SU-31SM (sic), inside one of the world’s best fighter aircraft. Already in Yerevan.” Soon after, an unnamed source from Armenia’s Ministry of Defense confirmed that Armenia had been in talks with Russia to buy the fighter aircraft.
Emil Sanamyan, editor of the USC Institute of Armenian Studies FOCUS ON KARABAKH site, discusses the reasonability of such a deal in an article for CivilNet. He suggests that if a deal for the Su-30SM fighters go forward, it would become the most expensive military item ever bought by Armenia. At $40-50 million a piece, depending on quantity (say 6 or 12), the value of the deal could climb beyond half a billion dollars, exceeding the current size of the annual military budget.
“The prime minister will need the right briefings to consider the pros and cons of this deal before locking Armenia into potentially unnecessary financial obligations,” Sanamyan writes.
READ MORE
The Su-30 Selfie: Why Pashinyan’s Interest in Russian Fighter Aircraft Doesn’t Make Much Sense
